Innovations

A State-based, public–private partnership supports quality improvement in pediatric practices, leading to greater adherence to evidence-based care and improved care coordination for children and adolescents, and to higher staff satisfaction in participating practices, and highly rated quality of care for children.

As part of a comprehensive initiative, State legislation enables trained primary care medical providers to receive Medicaid reimbursement for preventive dental care provided during well-child visits, enhancing access to these services for low-income children younger than 6 years.

A comprehensive, multi-stakeholder program combines training and higher reimbursement for dental providers with outreach, education, and support to families, leading to enhanced access to dental care, less tooth decay, and lower dental care costs for young, low-income children.

A children's hospital requires providers to look at a patient's picture and basic demographic information on a verification screen when entering and signing an order, leading to significant reductions in patients receiving or almost receiving care intended for someone else because of an order being placed in the wrong chart.

Using a data-matching program, the state of Louisiana allows qualified, low-income children to be automatically enrolled in Medicaid based on information submitted on applications to the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, enhancing access to Medicaid coverage and health care services and significantly reducing administrative costs.

A series of automated text messages to predominantly low-income, Latino parents about influenza and the importance of influenza vaccines leads to a small but meaningful increase in the percentage of children vaccinated.

A pediatric radiology department uses theme-based room designs, multisensory distractions, and age-appropriate interactions and techniques to engage and distract young patients, leading to significantly less use of sedation, shorter scheduling lead times, increased throughput, and higher parent and staff satisfaction.

In a partnership between a hospital and four community-based organizations, bilingual community health workers help low-income, predominantly Latino families with asthmatic children better manage the disease, leading to fewer asthma-related symptoms, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and missed school days.

A dedicated inpatient unit features a physical environment, staffing, policies, and services tailored to women with severe perinatal depression, leading to improvements in outcomes and high levels of patient satisfaction.

Specially trained and certified lay workers known as “Grand-Aides” use illness-specific protocols to ensure that patients receive appropriate treatment in primary care settings and to ease the transition from hospital to home after discharge. The primary care-based program has reduced unnecessary visits and demonstrated the potential to reduce costs. Early data from one hospital program show significant reductions in readmissions.